AOTW- Mary Abshire

Mary Abshire

About the Author:By day, I am a government employee. At night, I am a Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy Author. I love dark, mysterious, and dangerous creatures, especially vampires.

My interest of the paranormal started in my youth. I watched sci-fi and horror shows. During my teenage years, Anne Rice was my favorite author. In my early twenties, I dabbled with writing, but never pursued a writing career. Now that I am older, I can. A few years ago, I started writing novels and I haven't stopped.

I am a Pro Member of the RWA and Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Chapter. I'm also a member of Savvy, ESPAN, and the Paranormal Romance Guild. I enjoy reading, writing, and chatting with others with similar passions.

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Interview with Mary Abshire

Mary Abshire is the author of The Soul Catcher Series.

HP: Mary, can you tell us a little about yourself?

Mary Abshire:Well, I spend my days trapped in an office. At night, I'm free. And I do so love my freedom.

Let's see… I'm a huge fan of just about anything from the 1980's. That was my generation. As I write the answer to these questions, my husband is watching Valley Girl. Like, totally awesome!

HP: You say your interest in writing started in your youth--can you tell us how it started?

Mary Abshire: I didn't write stories when I was young, but I did like to write book reports and essays. Nerdy, I know, but I always got good grades and comments. Later, when I was a teen, I was very active in the pen-pal world (back when computers weren't common in homes). I can't recall how many I wrote to, but I many friends/pen-pals. I loved writing to people. Met some of them too! I'd say that was the start of my "writing." In my early twenties, I wrote a short story but never did anything with it. Life happens, priorities change, etc., etc. A few years ago I decided to see if I could write a novel and get it published. My first was a YA that I shelved. The second was an erotic paranormal that I shelved. And then Claiming the Evil Dead. From nerdy essay writer to paranormal romance/urban fantasy author can't be too bad, right?

HP: Who or what influenced your writing once you began?

Mary Abshire: I've always had an interest in paranormal/vampires/out of the ordinary type stuff. I was born with double dose of curiosity. Naturally I wanted to write what I love. As for other influxes, I'd say many of today's best selling paranormal romance authors inspired me. Kelley Armstrong, Jeanine Frost, Kim Harrison, and Keri Arthur were a few influences.

HP: What inspired you to write your first book, Claiming the Evil Dead?

Mary Abshire: Nothing specific inspired me. I just knew I wanted to write something different and not solely about vampires. I wanted a protagonist who was unique, thought she was "bad", but she really was a good person (with some quirks and demon blood) and fought for good. I hadn't read any kind of books about capturing souls and sending them to hell. It seemed like a good idea to me.

HP: Can you tell us some of your latest news?

Mary Abshire: The 4th book in the series, Love Conquers All Evil, will be out in August. It's my favorite.

I have another series, more UF than PR. The Awakening is set to come out in January from Lyrical Press. It's a bit different with a lot of action and suspense. I recently finished the sequel. After I polish it and send it off, I hope to have it published next year.

HP: How did you come up with the names for your books Claiming the Evil Dead, Catching an Evil Tail and your newest novel in the series Fighting Evil?

Mary Abshire: Quite easy. Each title gives you a hint about the plot. The first one, she's out to claim the soul of an evil vampire. The second one, she's after the soul of a werewolf. In the third, she fights evil, well, evil vampires mostly. In the 4th, the love she has for a certain someone saves her from all kinds of evil. Since she's always after evil souls, I use "evil" in the title. I like simplicity.

HP: From my understanding the series focuses mostly on Half-demon, Jessie Garrett. Can you tell us a little about her and other main characters?

Mary Abshire: Jessie has a somewhat twisted childhood. At 13, she saw her mother commit suicide. A warlock friend took her in. She grew up as a normal person, but knew she wasn't. She could have become a bad demon, but chose not to. She wants others to treat her like normal and live a normal life, but it's just not possible.

My noble vampire is Drake. He's a cross between Bill and Eric from Trueblood. He's old, but never really been in love. After a century of being a vampire, he tired of killing and realized he could make a difference in the world. He joined an organization called Vampires for the Ethical Treatment of Other Vampires. Basically, they investigate bad vampires and try to convince them not to kill humans.

Jeremy is my bad boy demon. He's in your face and doesn't hold back. He wants Jessie, bad. So, he'll do whatever he can to get to her, which of course means he's always causing trouble. Demons can't be trusted. LOL.

There is an Alpha involved in two of the books. He'd love to have Jessie too. Her best friend, Dani, is in every book. She's like a sister to Jessie. They argue a lot, but that's typical friendship. I have a few other supernatural creatures, but they don't have big roles.

HP: Can you tell us some about the series as a whole?

Mary Abshire: Jessie's main goal is to catch some evil soul and send it where it belongs. Sounds simple, right? Of course it's not. The books would bore you if it were easy to send a soul to hell. So, she has plenty of conflict, internal and external. She wants the brave vampire to sweep her off her feet, but she's so damn tempted by the hockey-playing demon. And the hot Alpha. Decisions, decisions…

HP: Did you find one book in the series more difficult to write that the others? Which book did you have the most fun writing?

Mary Abshire: Difficult to write? None, but when it came down to a meeting with the VETOV, it took a little longer to create the additional characters and get them just right. Then I had to think of a way to beef up the conflict.

Most fun? Well, I enjoyed all of them, but Love Conquers All Evil is my favorite. Jessie learns a lot about herself and what she wants.

HP: How did you develop your plot and characters?

Mary Abshire: The plot was the easy part—go after an evil soul. Make each one different and more difficult from the last. The characters were already in my head, noble vampire, bad boy demon, hunky Alpha, quirky friends, guardian warlock.

HP: How many novels do you think you will have in this series?

Mary Abshire: I have ideas for more books in the series, but right now I'm going to try some other ideas that I'm itching to write.

HP: What books or authors do you think have most influenced your life and writing?

Mary Abshire: Kelley Armstrong, Jeanine Frost, Kim Harrison, and Keri Arthur to name just a few

HP: Where do you see yourself at in five years--writing wise?

Mary Abshire: I'd like to have a couple of different series on the market. I have a couple in my head right now that I'm ready to work on. I'd love to be able to write full time. Dream job!

HP: Do you have anything you would like to say to your readers?

Mary Abshire: Yes. I want to thank everyone who has read my books, reviewed them, and commented. I truly appreciate your support for me and my books. If you ever want to drop me a line, please do. I'm on Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook.

HP: When all is said and done, all the book work is done and it is out for people to buy--what do you feel? A sense of relief, accomplishment, what?

Mary Abshire: Both, definitely! I get a bit of anxiety too. But it's all worth it in the end. I enjoy writing or I wouldn't keep doing it.

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